Baikal coast: KBZHD, healing springs of Arshan and a meeting with a shaman

A day of traveling by various types of transport: water, rail, and automobile.

And all this day, Baikal will be on your left, so different, so big.

First, you will cross the source of the Angara River on a large motor ship and find yourself in the port of Baikal, a large railway and river port that cannot be reached by car.

From here, you can take a special tourist train along the Circum–Baikal Railway - the Golden Buckle of the Transsib, a stunning engineering and architectural monument of the early 20th century.

The trip is accompanied by a story about the history of construction and the unique features of the road.

The number of tunnels and bridges along a fairly short stretch of the route is impressive when you recall the level of technology development at that time – everything was built manually, thoroughly, for centuries.

By evening, you will find yourself at the southernmost point of Lake Baikal, at the foot of the majestic Khamar-Daban Mountains.

Transfer to the marina (~10 min.).

Ferry transfer to Baikal port (~ 40 min.).

Transfer by tourist train to the village. Slyudyanka (~ 8 hours).

Upon arrival in Slyudyanka– an autotransfer to the village. Kultuk (~ 20 km).

Accommodation at the hotel.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

After breakfast, we will go to another famous town on the coast – Slyudyanka, the "mineralogical pearl of the Baikal region".

Mica and marble are the main industrial minerals of these places.

But the hand-picked ones can barely fit in the private museum "Gems of Baikal" by collector Zhigalov, where there are several thousand of them.

You will be told about all the riches of the local places, comparable only to the Urals.

Not far from the village, Shamansky Cape juts out into Lake Baikal for half a kilometer. It is a sacred place for Buryats, Mongols, a natural monument, and a popular vacation spot for tourists and the local population.

In ancient times, religious rituals were performed here and it was called Aikha-Shulun – the terrible stone.

And again, we drive along the hot asphalt road running through a wide valley between two mountain ranges: Khamar–Daban on the left, Eastern Sayans on the right.

In this unique Tunka valley, you can see young volcanoes and old Buryat yurts, the gray peaks of the Tunka Chars against the piercing blue sky.

After driving 120 km, we arrive at the village of Arshan, located at the foot of overhanging mountain peaks, which makes it seem immersed in eternal shadow.

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Slyudyanka. The excursion program. Lunch at a cafe. Transfer to Arshan (~ 3 hours). Accommodation at the hotel. Dinner at the cafe. (incl. meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner)

Today you will explore the picturesque surroundings of "Siberian Switzerland".

It is better to take a tour of the village on foot, then you can see the details and minutiae of the local way of life that are invisible from the bus window.

You will visit the healing mineral springs (take a mug or even a plastic bottle with you), the beautiful mountain river Kyngarga, stroll through the park of the Arshan resort with its natural monuments, pick up a souvenir in the entertaining market, where souvenir stands side by side with sellers of local medicinal herbs for literally all diseases.

Next– a walking tour along the forest road to the datsan, a Buddhist temple, where you will be told about its history, rules of conduct in datsans, and Buddhism in Buryatia.

Accommodation at the hotel.

Meals included: breakfast, dinner in a cafe.

Arshan Walking sightseeing tour.

Today we continue to explore the picturesque surroundings and get acquainted with the amazing Tunka Valley.

You will visit the crater of the extinct volcano Talskaya Vershina, see the cones of the Chersky and Kovrizhka volcanoes.

You will hear about the distant past of the Tunka Valley from the time of the Jurassic period, as well as fascinating legends about the ancestor of the Buryat tribes of Bukhara-noyon, the beautiful Kyngyrga.

The Tunka Valley is often called the "Land of healing narzanes" because of the abundance of mineral springs, which in their healing properties are not inferior to the famous waters of the Caucasus and the Carpathians.

The methane baths of the Pearl spring are unique in their chemical composition.

The hospital is located in a picturesque location on the right bank of the Irkut River.

You can swim in the pool with mineral water (for an additional fee), drink healing phyto-tea, and taste Buryat cuisine (for an additional fee).

Visit the maral farm, where you will be told about antlers, which have healing properties.

Marals are primarily known for their horns, which are used to make various medicines, vitamins, cosmetics, etc.

You will be told about the features of harvesting antlers and their benefits for the body.

The deer on the farm are mostly wild, but some individuals have already been tamed, and anyone can pet them and even feed them.

Accommodation at the hotel.

Meals included: breakfast, dinner at the hotel.

Tunka Valley tour.

The road to Irkutsk is filled with memories of the time spent, funny and amusing incidents, interspersed with exclamations of surprise from the views outside the bus window.

On the way, stop for lunch at a roadside cafe (for an additional fee).

And then to the very suburbs of Irkutsk – the Kultuksky tract with its serpentine mountain road, which is admired for its curves and the surrounding Siberian forest.

Transfer by regular bus to Irkutsk (210 km, ~ 5 hours).

Accommodation at the hotel.

Meals included: breakfast at the hotel.

After breakfast, we go to get acquainted with the traditional religion of the Buryats, shamanism, for an excursion and entertainment program in the village. Ust-Ordynsky is the capital of the Ust-Ordynsky Buryat Autonomous Okrug.

Here you will visit the local museum of local lore, which tells about the culture, way of life, traditions and customs of the Western Buryats, as well as meet with a real shaman and be able to participate in the performance of one of the ancient rituals.

And then, after all the rituals, you will be served lunch, namely dishes of Buryat cuisine.

The exchange of impressions from the trip will make the return to Irkutsk quick and unobtrusive.

Transfer to the village Ust-Ordynsky (~75 km). Return to Irkutsk.

Accommodation at the hotel.

Meals included: breakfast at the hotel, lunch at the cafe.

Excursion program in Ust-Orda.

Sightseeing tour of the city: a visit to the historical center, the embankment of the Angara river, architectural monuments.

Excursion to the Znamensky Monastery with one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Siberia, famous for its iconostasis and burials on the territory (graves of the Decembrists, Grigory Shelikhov, etc.).

Visit the central market and souvenir shop.

Meals included: breakfast at the hotel.
Sightseeing tour of Irkutsk. The approximate end time of the program is 13:00.